Rite of Passage
Maybe it's the thrill of rebellion, or the defiance of danger, or just the satisfaction of jumping into cool water on a hot, sticky day. Whatever the reason, the young people of Milford, Mass., keep returning to the local quarries to dive into the water, even after a teenage boy died last Sunday falling off one of the quarry cliffs, the third such accident in the last dozen years. "At Quarry's Edge, They Return for the Thrill" by Keith O'Brien of The Boston Globe beautifully describes the lure these local quarries have held for generations of Milford residents and how they've become a way of life despite the risk of death. I admire the enterprise O'Brien shows by taking a spot news story (a boy's terrible accident) and looking at what it says about a community and growing up in general. Be sure to check out this story's terrific ending.